Abstract

Aim Depression and anxiety are the most common psychological disorders among obese patients. Therefore, understanding the risk factors for this relationship is essential. This study was carried out aiming to assess the association of anxiety and depression with BMI and to evaluate the related risk factors. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on a large sample of 732 overweight and obese patients. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire was used for measuring depression and anxiety. Additionally, for all subjects, body mass index (BMI), percentage of body fat (PBF) and total soft lean mass (SLM) were measured using AVIS 33 body composition analyzer. Results We found that BMI and PBF were significantly higher among overweight/obese patients who had anxiety or depression. Depression and anxiety were more frequent among housekeepers. Anxiety (p < 0.001) and depression (P < 0.001) scores were also positively correlated with BMI but not with PBF and SLM in different groups of BMI. Female subjects had a higher prevalence of anxiety (p = 0.010). In addition, sleep hours did not have correlated with weight status or development of anxiety or depression. Conclusions Obesity/overweight associated with the development of anxiety and depressive symptoms irrespective of sleep behavior. On the other hand, depression and anxiety were found to be the potential risk factors for developing obesity. These results indicate a direct association between psychosocial state and obesity.